This invention relates to a measuring method and to a measuring device for measuring deviation in the form of vehicle bodies or frames, often in connection with inspection of damage or alignment of deformed vehicles.
The measuring method is carried out in such a way that four gripping means are clamped in four undamaged reference points located in the middle section of the vehicle. The gripping means are in turn combined with a measuring frame which is oriented in a plane parallel to the ground plane of the vehicle. A measuring beam provided with the necessary measuring means is then quick coupled parallelly to the ground plane of the measuring frame and the vehicle so that all the other reference points of the vehicle can be rapidly controlled by measurement.
The measuring frame of the present invention can be dismantled in short sections, and can be easily accommodated in a usual suitcase. The measuring frame is further provided with a telescopic measuring rod by which the necessary crosswise measurements can be rapidly carried out.
The invention is able to detect small deformations (about 80% of all cases) that are rarely put onto a levelling bench or the like for reasons of time and costs. Thus, this invention creates a very rapid, cheap and portable diagnostic instrument which is of a special interest for insurance companies, trading companies, research laboratories, police etc., which are often not directly engaged in motor car repair activities but which still need to evaluate vehicles in a simple, quick and cheap way.
According to known techniques as described in BD-AS No. 2,246,011, BD-AS No. 2,324,530, U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,396 and SW No. 7,513,214-5, vehicle body frame measurements are typically carried out by means of heavy, bulky and expensive measuring frames or measuring jigs, which are normally not engaged in instances of small deformations or suspicion of a possible deformation. Vehicle bodies and frames are often not measured in instances of small deviation because at present there is lacking a light, portable, quickly adjustable and simple measuring device which can provide the desired measuring result within some minutes and which is therefore not prevented by high working costs. Also, in a usual simple crosswise measurement, there is a further risk of an erroneous diagnosis on account of the fact that the measurement, as a rule, is carried out only in two dimensions. Therefore this prior method is not sufficiently safe.